Spotify is a Swedish audio streaming platform that provides digital music, podcast, and video streaming services. The company was founded in 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon, and it is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.
As of 2023, Spotify is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol SPOT. This means that ownership of the company is spread out among shareholders who have purchased shares of the company’s stock.
According to the company’s most recent public filings, the largest shareholder of Spotify is the investment management firm BlackRock, which holds over 7% of the company’s outstanding shares. Other major institutional investors include The Vanguard Group, Morgan Stanley, and T. Rowe Price.
Daniel Ek, the company’s co-founder and CEO, is also a significant shareholder in Spotify, holding around 8% of the company’s shares as of the end of 2022. Other company executives and directors also hold smaller stakes in the company.
Despite being publicly traded, Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon still hold significant control over the company due to their ownership of “Class B” shares, which have 10 times the voting power of ordinary shares. This means that even though they own a relatively small percentage of the company’s overall shares, they have a larger say in the company’s decision-making processes.
Spotify has also made a number of acquisitions over the years that have brought in new shareholders. For example, in 2022, Spotify acquired the podcast production company Megaphone, which brought in new investors such as Greycroft and Betaworks Ventures.
Overall, the ownership structure of Spotify is complex and constantly changing as new investors come and go. However, the company’s founders and top executives continue to hold significant control over the company’s direction and decision-making processes.